The Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) has decided to set up power projects worth Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 crore to achieve its target of becoming a 2,500 mw power generation company by 2012, Chairman and Managing Director, A R Ansari said in a recent statement.

In addition, the company is also planning to enter into power projects using fuel other than lignite in different states for which the company has already entered a joint venture agreement with Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) for setting up a coal based power plant with a capacity of 2000 mw at an estimated cost of Rs. 10,000 crore in UP with a 50:50 equity participation. To go ahead with the project, the state government has in principle approved the allocation of 2,500 acres of land and 80 cusecs of water for the proposed project.

Similarly, the company is setting up a 1,000 mw unit in Madhya Pradesh and is also planning to participate in the bidding process for setting up Ultra Mega Power Projects with a capacity of 4,000 mw in Tamil Nadu, Orissa Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. In the renewable energy segment the company is setting up a wind energy generation farms between Tuticorin and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu where the initial capacity would be 50 mw, which will subsequently be increased to 200 mw in a phased manner, Ansari added.